Jallen
Jallen History The Kingdom of Jallen and the People of Jallen are inseparable. While other peoples in Domhain Byd have mingled together to some degree, the same cannot be said of Jallen. Those who are not of Jallen ancestry within the Kingdom of Jallen are either the descendants of slaves or foreign wives. On the other hand, Jallen ancestry is recognized by a one-drop rule: anyone who has a single known Jallen ancestor is considered to be Jallenese and has access to all of the rights of such citizenry. Those of Jallen ancestry who have left the Kingdom can never sever the ties to their true homeland, at least not in the eyes of the royal family who will still claim them as subjects. The Jallenese claim their royal family and history go back two thousand years in an unbroken line, making them the oldest kingdom in Domhain Byd. A bloody civil war has kept Jallen in gridlock for nearly twenty years, dividing the kingdom between those who support the former king's youngest son Devlin the First of His Name and a distant cousin to the king Albin IV. Devlin I represents a radical shift in culture and religion, while Albin IV holds to the old ways. Government The Jallenese believe in the divine right of kings. As such, their kings for two thousand years have come from the same family, chosen by their god. Women have not traditionally been allowed to hold property or titles, though if a male heir of the proper generation was lacking then property and titles could pass to a woman's sons. The Kingdom of Jallen is divided up into multiple baronies, with noblemen overseeing each barony and paying tribute to the king. Only those with noble blood--either proven through lineage or declared such by the king--may hold much power. All others are peasants, soldiers or women. Officially, Albin IV rules from the capitol city of Haan. Devlin I's forces hold the southernmost edge of the kingdom. Geography The coastline of Jallen is arid bordering on desert to the north, while the mountains are forested and are often snowy at their peaks. Economy Jallen produces many ores, precious gems and coal from their mines. There is some farming land toward the south, near the border with Adunato. The use of Ghilen as labor in the north has increased since slavery ended, with some attempts to export the risen dead to other nations for profit. Religion All Jallenese worship Mhal. To do otherwise is to be condemned to death. Prior to the Mhalites taking control of Jallen, they had worshipped Llahm. Some vestiges of these practices remain, but all public and acknowledged religion is focused entirely on Mhal. Once every seventeen years a boy is identified as the current avatar of Mhal. He's brought to the capitol city of Haan, where he is tortured to death. As many people as possible must engage in the torture, so that they can be purified through their god's blood. Customs The Jallenese used to trade heavily in slaves. Female slaves were tattooed at the back of the neck so as not to mar their beauty, while male slaves were tattooed on the face. Slaves were often trained in a craft for the enrichment of their masters, such as fishing, mining or magery. Since the end of slavery, this has made for an economic strain on the kingdom, which was already hurting from war. If it were not for the ores it exports that are desperately needed for modern technology, the kingdom would collapse entirely into poverty. The Fundamentalist priests of Mhal practice necromancy, using their god's power of rebirth to raise the dead. The highest honor for a peasant or woman is to be so beloved by their master that they are raised to continue to serve after death. The Reform priests of Mhal lead by King Devlin I are said to practice an entirely new, bizarre form of necromancy: they heal with it, by transplanting the limbs and organs of the recently dead onto the injured. Many lives are claimed to have been saved by this method.Category:Kingdoms Category:Peoples of Domhain Byd